Lech Lecha
Stuart Fickler, Ph.D.
"And the Lord said to Abram, 'Go forth from your land and from your birthplace and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you.' 1"
The phrase "go forth" in ancient Hebrew actually translates to "go out to yourself". It commanded that, in order to find God, Abraham must leave the preconceived notions established in his ego by family and community. He must go out to the cosmocentric world of God.
This is brilliantly supported by Maimonides when he says, "… for there is nothing else in existence but God and His works, the latter including all existing things besides Him: we can only obtain a knowledge of Him through His works; His works give evidence of His existence, and show what must be assumed concerning Him,... 2"
Thus, as it was for Abraham, so it is for us. We must struggle to escape from the biases ad errors of our egos and learn to walk in the cosmocentric world of God's creation. In that journey, we will find our relationship with God. When we achieve that, our egos will become powerful partners in fulfilling our God-given purposes.
Footnotes
1. Genesis 12:1
